Elliot wrote::D Penguin, the fellow would quickly see that there is no chain. The point of this idea is to have him struggle with the shifters for a while, expecting to find a faster gear if he just keeps trying.

True, true, but if we were to do this on the playa, I'd say that you'd probably be able to find a person or two who'd be in a "state" to not notice the missing chain -- heck, you'd probably be able to find a person or two who'd hop onto an exercise bike and try and ride off out there...

But, how about the leave the chain on, but file off all but say 2 or 3 teeth on the front sprocket?

Hmmm, or how about attaching a drogue chute that deploys after 50-100 feet?

I would say something about adding a Burmese tiger trap to the equation, but that'd probably be too dangerous...

gyre wrote:What would happen if you locked the pedals so they wouldn't spin?

I know this one... we had a campmate want a bike immediately after we got parked, and Larry takes off the pedals and turns the handlebars to carry all the bikes on the rack. They didn't want to wait for Larry, so they grabbed the pedals and put them on wrong, switched sides i think. The bikes was rideable until the pedals finally sheared and stripped out the crank arms. Getting new parts would be more than the bike is worth, although it was a great little playa bike.

So locking the pedals only fucks up the bike. It can be ridden far enough that the rider may not even notice the problem.

I stood out on Evolution and offered 40 bike locks that I brought with me to passersby. Some were greatful and others acted like I was trying to sell them a life insurance policy. I could see that the bike didn't have a lock on it, but still they continued without one.
Instead of trying to electrocute or gas someone stealing a bike, why not just lock it up and be done with it?

Put three on the bike.. Then attach a different length wire to each magnet side.. As the bike rolls away the alarms get louder.. Then comes the spot light and bull horn..

I had a bike frame brake at the welds.. I could stick it together and it would stand by it's self.. If you grabbed it, It would fall apart.. My kid went to move it.. The look on his face was priceless..

Shambala wrote:I stood out on Evolution and offered 40 bike locks that I brought with me to passersby. Some were greatful and others acted like I was trying to sell them a life insurance policy. I could see that the bike didn't have a lock on it, but still they continued without one. Instead of trying to electrocute or gas someone stealing a bike, why not just lock it up and be done with it?

Shambala wrote:I stood out on Evolution and offered 40 bike locks that I brought with me to passersby. Some were greatful and others acted like I was trying to sell them a life insurance policy. I could see that the bike didn't have a lock on it, but still they continued without one. Instead of trying to electrocute or gas someone stealing a bike, why not just lock it up and be done with it?

Have you always been a wet blanket?

Well, no! I set up this elaborate alarm system on my first car many years ago and it would do everything to a would be thief short of gassing them. I had that car for 6 years and to my dissapointment, no one ever tried to steal it.
I will try to be more of a conformist at BM and boobie trap my bike so if it's moved without me it will send a 50,000 volt shock through the handle bars. Fuck those dirty, freeloading hippies!

Shambala wrote:I stood out on Evolution and offered 40 bike locks that I brought with me to passersby.

Best. Gift idea. Ever.

Our camp had two bikes stolen from Center Camp Cafe and as much as we tried to put it past us (it happened Monday afternoon) it was a dark cloud the rest of the week.

Gyre, I'll gladly donate to a wholesale purchase of cheap-o bike locks... or I'll start the fund if you tell me where to buy the locks.

Shambala, did you have any plans to re-collect the locks at the end of the week or was it fire-and-forget? I'm thinking a removable tag on each one which says when you're done with it for the week, drop it off at XYZ CAMP with the combo taped to it. Kind of a Green Bike program for locks.

Also: This is a great idea to bring up in the "What's a good playa gift?" threads for next year.

I have a wholesale account here in Memphis.
I can look into dropshipping.
Let me know what kind of locks you have in mind.
Some of the cheaper chinese stuff retails for less than my cost on the better locks, even chinese.

I don't know if it would be possible, but I can look into a product donation, if people wouldn't find it too commercial for a lock company to give them away.

I'm not familiar with dropshipping is but I was just thinking the cheapest, chinese lock in bulk -- but I have no idea how much that is.

As far as the company give-away, that's a tough one.

One would assume the company giving the product away would want a quid pro quo in some form or why give them away?

But if the company were to give them to you and you were to give them away as a gift for free (sans sales pitch, etc) then I see no difference between that and when I give away name brand alcohol or snacks or whatever.

my understanding of drop ship means the end user gets it delivered to them by the manufacturer or warehouse, with the product bypassing delivery to the location of the person or business where the product was paid for.

Gyre, I think the non-spinning pedals might be interesting. The pedal platform would only be horizontal in two positions of the rotation. A rider's foot would get fouled up, or tipped off somehow. Offhand I can't really imagine what that would be like (usually I can summon up an "oh, yeah, I know what that bike accident is like", relative to bad kid experimental bike mechanics, and other bike experiences) Do they still make what we called rat catcher pedals, the ten speed pedals with the the serated edges?

Elorrum, we have Shark Bite pedals now -- bigger and sharper serrations!

AntiM, I am happy to report that it is not possible to swap pedals left for right. At least not without something like an hydraulic press, or at least a quite large sledge-hammer. I even tried just now to put a small-thread pedal in a large-thread crank, but that was such a sloppy fit that no sane person would try to ride it. And if you tried, you would get maybe two revolutions before the pedals fell on the ground. So we are still looking for the technical details of that amusing mystery.

Pedals resisting turning is a rather common Playa problem, but we could certainly perfect this phenomenon with a couple of inches of bailing wire.

Actually Elliot, your comment about "pedals resisting turning" as a common playa problem made a light-bulb (a dim one mind you) go off.

After about 2 days this year the kick-stand on my wifes bike decided to become very "difficult" -- ie., by the last day you almost had to beat it with a hammer to go up.

So, on that note, how about just making a non folding (ie., welded) kick stand and just watch them stub their toe trying to get it up. Or, for a more confusing solution mount two kick stands (one on each side)?

EB wrote:I'm not familiar with dropshipping is but I was just thinking the cheapest, chinese lock in bulk -- but I have no idea how much that is.

As far as the company give-away, that's a tough one.

One would assume the company giving the product away would want a quid pro quo in some form or why give them away?

But if the company were to give them to you and you were to give them away as a gift for free (sans sales pitch, etc) then I see no difference between that and when I give away name brand alcohol or snacks or whatever.

What kind of cost are we talking here? For say, 200 cable locks?

I'll have to get a quote on that.
That quantity might get very negotiable with cheaper locks.
If you find any part numbers in particular, email me.

This is the type of lock that I bring to give away. I would not want to use it on my bike in a regular city, but they are pretty secure. I was not able yank or force them open. In answer to the question about wanting them back---NO, I give them for keeps.
.

AntiM, I am happy to report that it is not possible to swap pedals left for right. At least not without something like an hydraulic press, or at least a quite large sledge-hammer. I even tried just now to put a small-thread pedal in a large-thread crank, but that was such a sloppy fit that no sane person would try to ride it. And if you tried, you would get maybe two revolutions before the pedals fell on the ground. So we are still looking for the technical details of that amusing mystery.

Apparently a large crescent wrench and a determined campmate will force the pedals in enough to ride a day. Larry was able to force them back out, but the crank and the pedal were cross-threaded, completely ruined.

Wow. That's the answer then; determination! Industrial strength determination! That is certainly one for the record book. Thanks, AntiM -- good story!

Penguin, next time try something that resembles oil. You might be surprised what will get the job done, like maybe sunscreen lotion. Or the classic: pull a few drops out of your car engine with the dip stick.

I don't know how long I spent trying to attach pedals one time when I noticed the letters L and R stamped on the ends of the pedals....

I like the idea of the collapsing frame. Nothing rideable, just it falls to pieces when someone grabs the handlebars or seat. If the brazed connectors were just slip fitted it would make a noodly bike.

Elorrum wrote:I like the idea of the collapsing frame. Nothing rideable, just it falls to pieces when someone grabs the handlebars or seat. If the brazed connectors were just slip fitted it would make a noodly bike.

Or maybe rather that just cutting it so it collapses you could cut short pieces out of strategic places in the frame and replace the missing section with a length of spring. You make the spring strong enough so it'd do fine if you walked the bike, but as soon as someone jumped on it would bend every which way in a number of places.

Our "loaner" bike this year was a $20 Huffy mountain bike with a large bottom bracket. I pulled a crank spindle, drilled a hole thru the inner portion of the spindle and one thru the bottom bracket. From my pack-rat box I found a clock type spring ( think it was from a old chop saw to help push the saw back up ) one end into the bottom bracket and one end into the crank spindle.

You could get 7 - 8 revolutions before it became impossible to pedal any further..... the real fun was wathcing someone struggle to pedal only to be going slower.

I only got to witness one ride off attempt but watching the feet slip off the pedals and watching the pedals spin backwards as the the spring unwound was priceless.

"Do not follow where the path may lead; go instead, where there is no
path and leave a trail of clothes." - Pastor Philip